England top 4 Mickey
Adams, David Howell,
Gawain Jones and Luke
McShane all negotiate
their way through a
tough quarter-final
stage to qualify for the
British Knockout
Championship
semi-finals.

David Howell triumphs
eventually over IM Ravi
Haria in a rapid
playoff, despite almost
coming to grief in the
first Classical game.

Semi-Finals pit Adams vs
McShane and Howell vs
Jones.

Live coverage

of the Semi-Final
matches, starting
Tuesday at 11:00 UTC, is
available on the London
Chess Classic
website.

LONDON
(December 10, 2018)
– Despite valiant efforts
from the underdogs in the
British Knockout, England
Olympiad team members Mickey
Adams, David Howell, Gawain
Jones and Luke McShane all
managed to win their
Quarter-Final matches –
although not without a
struggle.

Qtr Fina1 1

1

2

3

4

A

Simon Williams

2466

˝

0

-

-

-

˝

Mickey Adams

2706

˝

1

-

-

-

1˝

Qtr Fina1 2

1

2

3

4

A

David Howell

2697

˝

˝

1

1

-

3

Ravi Haria

2436

˝

˝

0

0

-

1

Qtr Fina1 3

1

2

3

4

A

Gawain Jones

2683

1

˝

-

-

-

1˝

Alan Merry

2429

0

˝

-

-

-

˝

Qtr Fina1 4

1

2

3

4

A

Jonathan Hawkins

2579

˝

0

-

-

-

˝

Luke McShane

2667

˝

1

-

-

-

1˝

After being
becalmed in the
Classical match,

David Howell
won both rapid
playoff games

David Howell had the
closest shave of all the
top seeds, only managing
to qualify for the
Semi-Finals after
winning a nail-biting
playoff match 2-0
against IM Ravi Haria.

Elsewhere, Mickey Adams
enjoyed a convincing victory
in Game 2 of his match,
after putting GM Simon
Williams’s central king
position under pressure in a
double-edged Sicilian
Richter-Rauzer. As his
position started to crumble,
Williams launched a
desperate knight sacrifice
against Adams’ king, but to
no avail.

Gawain Jones, after his Game
1 win against IM Alan Merry,
opted for a pawn sacrifice
and active play with an
‘octopus’ knight to keep the
balance, drawing comfortably
in a rook endgame to ensure
qualification.

Luke McShane played a nicely
controlled endgame to knock
out GM Jonathan Hawkins,
using a strong rook on the
seventh rank and an active
king to bring home the
point.

After a break on Monday, for
the Pro-Biz Cup at Google HQ
in London, the Semi-Finals
resume on Tuesday.